The Truth
by marysverse
Summary: Chloe has a revelation
1. Chapter 1

Author's Note: I claim no rights to anything, I definitely don't claim responsibility for the disastrous season 8 of Smallville. I was very hopeful because it started out very good, but its like they just gave up trying to give Chloe a good story line. I mean if you were going to create such an awesome new character for the Supermanverse than why would you leave her without her dream job, counseling krypto people and married to Jimmy Olsen! Sorry I'm a little bitter when people get me all attached to a character and then flat line them story wise.

CHLOE'S APARTMENT

She was sick of it. Of all of it. So tired and alone. The ink on her annulment papers was barely dry and she was already packing her bags. It had been weeks since Lana had to leave because of her Kryptonite fusion incident and the entire time had been spent coddling Clark and trying to snap him out of depression. She was done with it, with him. Her two suitcases sat ready by the door. They looked pitiful, the culmination of her life in two bags. Well, she didn't really want to take that much baggage with her anyway. She took one last look around her apartment letting an intense swell of nostalgia wash over her. It almost brought a tear to her eye. But then she remembered that was her problem to begin with, she was living in the past, in memories long gone and forgotten; she had to move on.

"Hey Chloe." Clark greeted her in a remarkably cheerful tone, shaking her out of her reverie. Damn his timing.

"You're awfully chipper" Chloe responded scrambling to think of the best way to get rid of him.

"I'm feeling much better. Hey, I don't think I told you thanks for being there with me through this whole Lana thing. It was rough but you got me through it."

"That's in the job description of the BFF." She quirked back at him with a smile, unable to help falling back into her long-standing role. Focus Chloe, get him out so you can get out, don't let him draw you back in.

"So is that all you stopped by for? Because I do appreciate it but I was just headed out." Casually she grabbed her purse careful not to stand by her suitcases so he wouldn't notice them.

"Oh yeah, where are you off to? I'll come with you, I wanted to spend some time with you."

"Just some errands, nothing interesting, you'd be bored," she mumbled this through a curtain of her hair pretending to pick lint of her shirt, unable to meet his eyes.

Clark immediately knew something was up and he took a look around her apartment for any indication of why she was trying to get away from him. His eyes finally landed on the clues.

"You're doing errands with suitcases?"

"Umm...no, that'd be weird. I'm actually making arrangements for a vacation. I really need a break." She still didn't meet his eyes, her own darting on anything that wasn't him.

"Uh huh." He didn't believe her for a second. "Cool, I'll come with you. I've been thinking about taking a break anyway. Where do you want to go, I'll just run us over, no need to pay for travel plans."

She knew he was bluffing her but she was tired of this dance.

"Ok Clark. You got me. I'm not going on a vacation."

"I sorta figured, what's going on?" Clark looked at her with those big eyes that usually melted all thought from her head. Not this time though.

"Well I'm moving." Clark's eyes got huge as her declaration hung in the air between them.

"Clark I think you might actually pop your eyes out of their sockets if you keep staring like that." Chloe cautioned him.

Clark strode towards her invading her personal space.

"What happened, who's making you do this? Chloe I can take care of whatever it is, you just have to tell me." Chloe backed away from him, regaining her personal bubble.

"No one is making me do this Clark. I need a change, it's a decision all my own. I'm a big girl, I'm allowed to decide where I want to live."

"Why?" Clark whispered weakly feeling like he just got doused in kryptonite.

"I have a job offer from a newspaper. I'm ready to pursue my dreams again."

"Then why not rejoin The Planet, I'm sure Tess would hire you based on your body of work."

"Because Clark!" She snapped impatiently.

"Because why!" Clark snapped back, not used to having Chloe be short-tempered with him.

"Because you're there!" Chloe swore softly under her breath immediately after saying it, cursing herself for not leaving earlier and avoiding this scene. Clark took on that wounded look, confusion and hurt evident in every line of his face.

"You blame me, for everything that has happened," Clark concluded.

Chloe turned her face to the ceiling wishing that she didn't have to explain herself to him, but he wasn't going to let it rest. She walked over to her sofa and sat down tiredly, rubbing her temple. Clark followed her after a minute and waited patiently.

"Lana came to see me before she left."

"Oh, why didn't you tell me?"

"Because what she had to say was a message for me."

"What did she say?" Chloe stopped picking at worn fabric of the sofa and looked him directly in the eyes.

"She told me you erased my memory of your abilities and she told me you thought that killing me was the only way to stop Brainiac until she talked you out of it." She said this in barely audible tones, hoping saying it quietly would somehow lessen the pain of the revelation from the first time Lana had uttered it. It didn't.

"Chloe, I thought you're life would be better without that knowledge. That you would be in less danger. And I never thought killing you was the only way. I hesitated in my conviction that I could save you for a moment. That was it Chloe!" Clark was in full panic mode, never thinking Lana would reveal his confidences like this.

"Doesn't really matter, does it? I mean when you threw it in my face how you never lost faith that you could save me when Oliver was going after Lex, you weren't being truthful. You haven't been truthful with me and I wonder how long that has been going on." She dropped her eyes back to the arm of her couch.

"Chloe that's it! Those are the only two things I swear. I'm sorry, I messed up. I thought I was doing the right thing. Please, you can't cut me out of your life. You are everything to me." Clark clutched at her hands trying to convey how much he needed her.

She finally looked up at him. "I don't believe you." She delivered her verbal blow with the strength of unshakable conviction. Clark slumped to his knees in front of her, holding onto her hands and trying to fight his fears and his tears. He sat like this for several moments. Chloe went to get up only to have herself gently yanked back down by Clark.

"Okay, here's the truth. The truth is I've loved you for a long time, but our timing always seemed off. The truth is after Dark Thursday I wanted nothing more than to return your kiss you had given me. The truth is it hurt like hell when you got engaged and didn't even tell me about it. The truth is walking you down the aisle was the single most difficult thing I have ever had to do. The truth is I'm always scared of you getting hurt, of losing you. If it was public that you and I shared more than just friendship, it gives me nightmares thinking about how much more danger you'd be in. Yeah, the thought had occurred to me that I might have to kill you and it also occurred to me that if I had to do so, I would have quickly followed you. The truth is, its you and me forever in whatever capacity you'll have me." Tears flew freely down his face knowing for the first time he was laying everything out there, and he was terrified. Her heart yearned to forgive him, to get past this, to comfort him and tell him they would be okay. But that wouldn't be the truth.

"The truth is Clark, you're too late. The truth is I can't forgive you for wiping my memory. You knew Clark, you knew if I ever found out I would never forgive you. The truth is I would never have married Jimmy had you not taken a part of me that shaped who I inherently was. You messed with my history, you messed with my mind. You messed with our relationship and altered it forever. How do you expect me to forgive that?"

"Because you love me and I love you and we can get past anything." He said this so confidently she could almost believe him.

"No we can't. Remember, there is no Chloe Sullivan in the history books according to The Legion. I don't belong in your world."

"Those guys didn't know what they were talking about!" Clark exploded at her, on the verge of shouting.

"Lana Lang is not the one who shapes me into a hero, its you. Its always been you, you guide me, you challenge me, you make me a better person." Chloe had enough of his twisted version of history. She stood up, frustrated and angry.

"No Clark, its not me. Its never me. Its always someone else." She broke free from his grasp and walked away needing the distance. He remained on his knees, all his strength drained from him.

"Why would Lana do this? What was her point?" Clark wondered unintentionally out loud.

"I'm sure she had her reasons." Chloe whispered the only conclusion she could come up with over the weeks since Lana had come to her.

The doorbell rang. Chloe took a moment to straighten her posture and put on a neutral face before answering the door.

"Hello Bruce, thanks for coming all this way for me. It wasn't necessary but I appreciate it nonetheless." Chloe greeted softly.

"It was no trouble, besides I imagine we will be spending more time since you are moving to my city," a deep voice rumbled pleasantly. Clark got up to take a peek at who was at the door and saw a dark haired man with a build that rivaled his own.

"Let me get those bags for you."

"Thanks, I'll be down in just a moment."

The man left without ever indicating he noticed Clark.

"Who is that?" Clark demanded bristling with protectiveness.

"He's a friend."

"You're really leaving?"

Chloe took up her purse once again and nodded her head just once before turning to walk out the door.

"You know I'll follow you. I'll follow you anywhere." Chloe paused at the door and looked back at him. She stared at him, searching his eyes for something. He felt the first spark of hope that she had changed her mind. But she shook her head and continued out the door. Clark collapsed on the floor feeling like his soul was walking away from him, and he began to understand true heartache.


	2. Chapter 2

Gotham City

It was a dirty; corrupt city; dark and downright depressing. But Chloe somehow felt at home in this strange place, a weird kinship, like the city matched where she was in her life right now and it was oddly comforting. It had taken her three weeks to figure out Bruce Wayne's alter ego. She knew how to read the signs fairly quickly now a days. Bruce had contacted her over a year ago with a job offer that she had never considered because she thought her life should always be with Clark. He had said something about wanting fresh blood with a healthy dose of honesty in the fairly corrupted and surface skimming reporting of the Gotham Press. So here she was, back behind a reporter's desk, where she was before her life became inundated with superheroes. And she just figured out her boss likes to masquerade as a bat. Wonderful.

She honestly spent a good half hour debating whether or not to move again. Just pick up and go and keep going until she found a place free of superheroes. But knowing her luck she'd be on the move for the rest of her life. Then she decided she simply would not get involved. He would never have to know she knew and she could just keep going as your average super star reporter oblivious to superhero secrets. This was a great plan and fairly successful to boot. Until two weeks after her discovery she looked into the eyes of one injured Batman while out looking for trouble, and somehow he knew that she knew.

So she knew and he knew. But she refused to get involved. She didn't bring it up and avidly avoided any attempts on his part to bring it up. He got the hint. He wasn't sure if it was good or bad that she wanted nothing to do with that part of his life, but it kinda hurt nonetheless. He also figured out she had a superhero past as he had come to find himself in staring contests from afar with Superman while keeping tabs on her. It also explained her refusal of all his attempts to court her. After several presents were gently refused and returned, one bouquet of roses were sent back torched as a more adamant gesture of refusal. It only made him like her more.

So here he was, mooning after a girl that wouldn't give him the time of day unless it was business related. He knew he shouldn't be watching her, following her as closely as he did. But really, this girl always managed to find the most dangerous weirdos in Gotham anyway. Following her always led to some crime fighting action. Tonight was a quiet night though, she left the office at six, an unusually early night for her, and went straight home. There was a rather large dark haired boy with blue eyes waiting at her doorstep. She faltered in her step, not surprised to see him, but still somewhat reticent. She managed a small genuine smile and allowed the boy inside. Batman drove away from her place, overwhelmed with the need to put a hurting on some criminals.

Metropolis

He was going crazy, seriously crazy. He thought about her all the time, even when he was doing Superman duties she was there, telling what was right, what was wrong. Her words of support and encouragement he had always taken for granted reverberated through his mind all the time. It got him many through rough situations, but it wasn't the same as having her there. He often found himself in Gotham, following her, making sure she was safe. And keeping tabs on Batman who had taken an avid interest in Chloe. Sometimes he wished Batman would do something wrong. Just so he could take him down. But he knew that had everything to do with Chloe and nothing to do with the superhero himself.

He called her a lot, so she would know Clark and Superman were both thinking of her. That she was sorely missed in both of his personas' lives. Sometimes he would leave messages relaying something funny that had happened, or rambling messages of how much he missed her and needed her, sometimes he left angry messages that all the years they had spent together meant nothing to her if she could throw it all away. One message, the most recent message, simply said "I don't know how." That message Chloe played over and over again for a solid half hour, trying to discern some meaning in his inflection and tone. She was genuinely worried about him for the first time since she left. She called him back, got his machine, left her first message to him saying "Let's talk, six o'clock, my place."

Gotham

With a graceful flick of her wrist, she silently indicated to Clark to have a seat on the sofa as she proceeded to the kitchen. She could feel his gaze boring a hole in the back of her head while she scooped tablespoons of grinds into her coffee maker. One scoop, two scoop, three scoop…eight. Fill with water, percolate. She debated waiting for the coffee before going to face him but that would be a long and cowardly fifteen minutes. Deep breath…and ready. Gracefully, she settled herself on the opposite end of the couch and finally made eye contact.

He looked tired. Handsome as always but slightly worn out, which was alarming unless he had been handling kryptonite recently. He had on black dress pants and a deep vibrant blue shirt. Must have come straight from work.

To Clark, she looked beautiful. She was growing her hair out, it laid pin straight not quite reaching the middle of her back. She had an aged lace long sleeve shirt with a soft grey vest over it and page boy shorts in the same grey. She was effortlessly captivating and mysterious in the unconventional outfit. Lois was always batting eyelashes and had heavy makeup with boobs spilling everywhere from her too tight outfits. He was growing very weary of having her as a partner and spent most his time wishing Chloe was there instead. Chloe's quiet beauty and strength was unmatched by any other.

"Why are you wearing a homing beacon?" Clark asked softly careful not to show any anger in his voice. He slid over closer to her and carefully inspected the gold cylinder hanging around her neck. It was on a long gold chain, so fine that it looked like it would break from a strong gust of wind. The top of the cylinder had a tiny hole through it for the fine gold chain to go through. It just looked like a small skinny cylinder of gold with a slight ridge of emeralds down each side.

"Oliver came and gave it to me. It's not active; in case I'm ever in a jam I can't get out of, I can turn it on and he'll come and help."

"Oh." He let the device drop back softly against her. "It's a little extravagant, don't you think?"

Chloe let out a small chuckle of amusement.

"This was actually a compromise from what he originally wanted to give me." Her eyes twinkled as she remembered their two hour long argument that had ended with them being thrown out of the nice four star restaurant they were having their spat at.

"Oh." His face fell; mentally he kicked himself for not bringing something.

"Clark, I don't need a present from you." He had forgotten she could read him so well. A long pause, awkward silence.

"How are you enjoying the life of a reporter?"

"It, it's different, it's not the same as you and me at The Torch."

"Well of course not, that was high school. The Daily Planet is bigger and better."

"I wouldn't necessarily say its better." Clark intoned darkly looking away from her.

"How is Lois?" Chloe tried again after another long silence.

"Lois is…Lois." He trailed off again, staring at nothing.

"You know, I thought there were some sparks there, I thought by now you guys" Chloe was abruptly cut off as Clark exploded out of the sofa like a caged animal set free.

"Stop it, just stop it! I didn't come here to talk about Lois. Why does the whole universe seem to be pushing her on me? Like we have some great future destiny or something? She's not you, she will never be you!" Chloe froze momentarily frightened by his rant.

"Clark, I'm sorry, I was just trying to make conversation." She stood up trying to calm him down only to find herself enveloped in his embrace.

"God I missed you Chloe. You don't know how much. I thought losing Lana was the worst torment of my life. I was wrong." He squeezed her against him, wanting to never let her go. Burying his face against her soft neck he whispered hoarsely, "Please Chlo don't send me away, don't shut me out again. I just…can't." Chloe pulled her head away from him to search his face, trying to seek out what had caused this panic. She guided him to the sofa but he wouldn't let her go so she ended up leaning against his chest, half sitting on his lap.

"You want to tell me about it?" She gazed at him softly her brilliant green eyes full of sympathy for whatever had caused him to be in this state. He nodded slowly, his head pressed against her throat, listening to her heartbeat. She stroked his dark locks, patiently waiting for him to be ready.


	3. Chapter 3

"I tried Chloe, I really tried. To give you space, to give you the time you needed. I was prepared to wait for as long as you needed." Clark looked at her earnestly, searching her face for belief. She gave him a nod of encouragement.

"I had Jor-El contact The Legion, I wanted to find out the future. Your future and what had gone so wrong that you weren't in it. I went there and we got caught up in a battle, I ended up in the past."

"You mean the present?" Chloe asked, trying to keep track of the story. Clark swiftly stood up and began pacing her tiny living room.

"No Chloe, I was sent to a past that wasn't mine. It was the past the Legion had in their books, it was a world where I had never known you. Everything was generally the same, not so much excitement in high school, not without you there."

"How long were you there for?"

"Ten years."

"What?! How is that possible?"

"I don't know, The Legion managed to pull me back to their time and they said I'd only been gone for a couple of hours."

"Whoa…that is amazing." Clark stopped his pacing at her words and fell to his knees in front of her.

"No Chloe, it wasn't amazing." He vehemently shook his head at her as he gripped her like she would disappear any second.

"Okay, what was so bad about this world?"

"Haven't you been listening?! You were not there. You did not exist there. I had to live this life that wasn't mine. Do things, say things, react to things in ways I would not have. I fell in love with Lois, I was locked in a never-ending battle with Lex, it was me, but it wasn't me, it was some twisted version of me. I was forced to have these feelings and memories that weren't my own. For ten years I drove myself crazy trying to find you, because if I could find you, then I could me. The real me. And I couldn't. There was no record of your birth or your death. I never realized how much I need you in my life, I wanted to die, but I couldn't because I had to live this life." He shook slightly under her comforting hands, his eyes brimming with pain.

"The thing is Chlo, I never understood what the big deal was. Yes I messed with your memory and I broke your trust. But I didn't get what it meant to have this huge part of you ripped away, changing everything. Without you in my life, without your guidance, your fearlessness; its not a life worth living."

"What you said about not marrying Jimmy, it didn't make any sense to me. Until now. I took away part of your capacity to decide for yourself what you wanted because I changed what shaped you into the person you are. And I get it now, I just lived ten years of that. I'm so sorry." She smiled at him shaking her head softly.

"Clark, I'm sorry you had go through that. But you're back now, everything is okay."

"Is it? Chloe I lived a life without you, and it was hell. It was lonely and cold; I've never felt more alien and disconnected in my whole life. I didn't have a best friend. You're my center to this world and without you, I was drifting farther away from it." Clark looked down as he laced his fingers with hers.

"I-I can't do that again." His voice broke as he uttered his fears. Chloe quickly pushed him away and stood away from him.

"You really know how back a girl into a corner, huh?" She went to the doors of her balcony and stared into the inky black night.

"I'm sorry. I'm not as strong as you think."

"I don't think we can go back, to the way we were." Clark's shoulders slumped in defeat at her soft words.

"But I think we can handle trying again." He was at her side in an instant, joy radiating from every pore of his body as he clasped her tiny frame to his.

"But," she cautioned him, "we need to go slow. Try to rebuild our friendship. I'm still angry about a lot of things, but I want to try to be friends again." He deflated a little at her less than enthusiastic condition, but any way she wanted to do this, that's how he would do it.

"Okay, so what now?"

"Now? Now you go home. I've had a brutal day and I think a bubble bath is calling my name."

"Can I see you again?" Clark was not going to leave until he had a firm date with Chloe.

"Of course we'll see each other again. Actually, I'm going to Metropolis for Oliver benefit on Saturday. I'm sure you and Lois are going to cover it. I'll see you then?"

"Only if you promise to save me a dance."

"Deal." She walked over to her door indicating it was time for him to leave. He walked over to her slowly, not wanting to say goodbye yet. He wanted to stay and hold her all night, just to reassure himself she was real and because he was half afraid he would wake up in the morning back in that nightmarish alternate reality and this would be just a dream. But she wanted slow, so a sleepover was probably out of the question.

"See you Saturday?" He gently took her tiny hand into his. She slipped her hand away and cupped his face with it.

"Yes, I will see you then." She reiterated to him. It took all his willpower to walk out of the door; he faltered several times as he continued to walk away.

Chloe sighed resting her forehead against her now closed door. That had been unexpected. She gave herself a little shake and made her way to the kitchen. She poured herself a mug of coffee and the rest she poured into a thermos. This was going to be a long night. In five swallows she downed her addiction, tucked the thermos into her bag along with her taser and went out the door.

As stakeouts go, she made it a general rule to be there an hour early than necessary. You never know who was going to try to get the jump on you. But the visit with Clark had gone a little longer then intended and a half hour was all that she had. She was rounding the corner heading towards a nameless warehouse when someone stepped out from the shadows.

"You should have never come here." A gravelly voice bit out. She saw a flash, heard the deafening crack of his pistol. She only had time to think how ironic this would be for Clark before she slipped into darkness.


	4. Chapter 4

**A SECRET LAB SOMEWHERE…**

"What's wrong with her?"

"You mean aside from the obvious?" The older gentleman turned his wrinkled brow towards his boss.

"I've told you what she's capable of, she should be up and about by now."

"Yes, remarkable young woman. Unfortunately, her body can't seem to figure out what to heal. Her special ability comes from her central lobe, and its in overdrive right now healing everything."

"She has a bullet in her heart, what else could she be trying to heal." The frustrated young man ground out with barely a shred of control.

"Time."

"Come again?"

"Right now, her body is in a self induced state of stasis. She's not aging, and it's taking an incredible amount of her strength, leaving very little healing for her heart. She's not bleeding out, she won't die anytime soon. But at the rate she's going, she may not wake up for several years."

He tore his gaze from her still form, to look at the doctor.

"Years!?"

"I'm sorry sir. Any attempt on our part to remove the bullet would only lead to causing more damage." His boss gave him a hard look, the cold calculating man assessing whether another expert was needed. His look softened as he realized there were no other experts, he'd flown in the best. There was nothing to be done.

"Thank you, if you could excuse us?" He murmured faintly returning his gaze to her. He didn't wait to hear his answer. The doctor took a moment to take in the scene. He had seen him as a cutthroat businessman and a carefree playboy, but this was new. He looked, like a child, vulnerable and somewhat lost. The old man turned away to let him have a moment in peace.

"I swear I'll keep you safe. Until you're ready to wake up, take however much time you need. Just wake up and come back to us." He captured one lifeless hand into his. Her tiny hand engulfed by his.

_In your brown eyes _

_I walked away_

_In your brown eyes_

_I couldn't stay_

_In your brown eyes_

_you'll watch her go_

_Then turn the record on _

_and wonder what went wrong_

A single tear coursed unbidden and unnoticed down his smooth face. She still wore the necklace he had given her. That's how he had found her. He had lied when he told her it wasn't activated. After he had received a report that her tracker had remained in the exact same location for several hours, he went to see if she was okay. He would never forget finding her, sprawled face down in the dirty street. Hidden in the shadows, her bright blood mixing with the murky puddles left by the last rainfall.

_If everything was everything_

_but everything is over_

_Everything could be everything _

_if only we were older_

_I guess it's just a silly song about you_

_And how I lost you_

_and your brown eyes_

He was still struggling with what to tell Clark. He knew she wasn't too happy with him right now, but she would want him to know. But that boy managed to get into so much trouble, he was afraid he would attract the trouble to Chloe. What if he went on Red K and stole her away? What if he got another stalker lover who would try to kill Chloe for being competition? There were too many what ifs. He couldn't risk it, he couldn't risk her. Clark was his friend, but Chloe, Chloe was something else, something more maybe. She understood him, challenged him to be better, dared him to do better and she was always proud of him. Often he had wondered what could have been between them if he had met her first. But he didn't allow that to deter what they had now. He owed her. More than anyone else in this world, he owed her everything.

_In your brown eyes_

_I was feeling low_

'_cause they're brown eyes _

_and you never know_

_got some brown eyes_

_but I saw her face_

_I knew that it was wrong_

_So baby turn the record on_

_play that song_

_where everything was everything_

_but everything is over_

_Everything could be everything _

_if only we were older_

_I guess it's just a silly song about you_

_And how I lost you_

_and your brown eyes_

_brown eyes_

_Everything was everything _

_But baby it's the last show_

_Everything could be everything _

_But it's time to say goodbye so _

_Get your last fix _

_and your last hit _

_Grab your old girl _

_with her new tricks _

_Honey yah it's no surprise _

_That I got lost, in your brown eyes_

_In your BROWN EYES _

_BROW-EH-OW-EH-OWN, BROW-EH-OW-EH-OWN _

_EYES _

_Your BROWN EYES _

_BROW-EH-OW-EH-OWN, BROW-EH-OW-EH-OWN _

_EYES _

_Got some BROWN EYES _

_BROW-EH-OW-EH-OWN, BROW-EH-OW-EH-OWN _

_EYES _

_Your BROWN EYES _

**SIX MONTHS LATER**

"Lois!"

"What!" Lois snapped back.

"I've been trying to get your attention, Perry wants us in his office." Lois immediately got up and headed to Perry's without waiting for Clark.

"You wanted to see us?" Perry glared at her from his desk.

"New tip just came in, I thought you'd want it." He held a small piece of paper out to her. Just a tiny piece of yellow legal sheet, not enough room to have much information. She snatched it from his grasp before Clark could get it and marched out of the office.

"Let me see it." Clark asked as he chased after her.

"No."

"What do you mean No?"

"Exactly that Clark, I'm doing this one solo. You just slow me down."

"Lois I have a right to know." He grabbed her arm stopping her relentless movement.

"Right Kent, you want to talk about right? Here's what is right. The two people she cared about most in this world turned their backs on her to chase her dreams. I wouldn't be here if it weren't for her. I wouldn't be doing this job, I wouldn't be this good at it if she hadn't shown me for all these years how to do it right. Those rules I gave you are her rules that she taught me. We took her life away and made it our own and now she's gone. Who knows where she's at, maybe she was kidnapped, maybe she was killed and I don't even know if she knows that we care. How sick is that. The last two times we went on a lead on this, you disappeared for hours and I spent more time trying to track you down than chasing the lead. Maybe you're not taking this seriously but I will find out what happened to my cousin. And if she's hurt in any way I'm going to make sure the scumbags that did it will pay. I want her found and I don't have time to babysit you through your juvenile disappearing acts." She poked her finger into his chest and didn't let it show when it really hurt.

He gripped her tighter, almost hurting her and shook her slightly.

"Don't you dare ever doubt how much I love her. She may be your blood, but she was my family for most of my life." He abruptly let her go and ripped the paper from her hand, scanned it quickly and tossed it back to her.

"You're right, it'd be better if we attack this individually. I hope one of us gets her." He walked away from a stunned Lois.

Lois quickly smoothed out the paper Clark had crumpled. There were only two words on the paper, nothing else. But those two words said everything.

Oliver Queen.


	5. Chapter 5

Oliver's Penthouse

"Clark, you need to calm down."

"Where is she Oliver? What did you do to her?" He pushed past the startled blond and scanned the penthouse; futilely searching for some hidden room he had her stashed in.

"Who are you talking about?"

"You know who! Chloe! My best friend that has been missing for six months! You know, the one that I've been searching for and all this time you knew something."

"Where are you getting your crazy information from?" Oliver replied coolly, unruffled by his accusations.

"As you're well aware, Perry came on board as chief editor three months ago and has been helping us look for her ever since. Perry gave us the lead on you. Don't bother denying it. I know him and I know he wouldn't make wild conjectures about this. Not about Chloe."

"I wasn't aware they even knew each other?"

"Where is she?" Clark growled.

"How could they possibly know each other if he just started three months ago? How could she mean anything to him. Chloe worked side by side with me and you're taking his word over mine!"

"You know Chloe. She somehow manages to touch your life in a profound way, no matter how short of a time you have with her. She helped him find his life again. His passion, his purpose. He's used all his resources in this search. She gives her strength and her conviction to anyone who needs it. That inspires people to return in kind." All the fight went out of him. He was exhausted trying to find her. Eating and sleeping taking a distant second to his search.

"I would think, after everything she's done for you, you would show her the same kindness. Please Oliver. Tell me what you know."

"I am. I am doing exactly what's best for her Clark. It was hard not sharing this with you, but for her sake, I'd do it again in a heartbeat."

"She's alive." Clark breathed out a sigh of relief that he felt like he'd been holding since the day he found out she was gone.

If you could call it that Oliver thought to himself.

"I'm not going to tell you where she is." Clark's face turned murderously dark, but before he could launch into threats, Oliver cut him off.

"Think about it Clark. She wouldn't be in this predicament if it weren't for you. She would have never left the relative safety of Metropolis and thrown herself into the shadows of Gotham. I blame you for this. And there is no way in hell I would ever allow you to endanger her in the state that she is in. You seek out trouble and it likes to follow you home." Clark let the words sink in. He tried to examine the truth of his statement without his bias getting in the way. He could not say Oliver was lying.

"What would you have me do?" He uttered in complete desolation.

"Move on Kent. If and when she is ready to see you, she'll seek you out."

Clark turned away from him, trying to hide the crippling paralysis of a life without Chloe Sullivan.

"You'll keep her safe?"

"With my life." With that promise Clark took off like a rocket, blowing past a startled Lois, putting as much distance between himself and the blond man he wanted to strangle.

Lois was perplexed by the sudden gust of wind that blew her hair into a fine mess, but the mission was Chloe and no mystery gust was going to sidetrack her. She marched resolutely across the foyer and took the elevator punching in the once familiar top floor button to Oliver's suite.

Back in the secret lab…

Chloe woke up suddenly. Everything was out of focus and strange. She scrambled off the bed, trying to remember where she was and how to get out. Batman stepped from the shadows.

"Finally decided to wake I see?"

"Where am I?"

"It took you a very long time."

"What am I doing here?"

"Longer than I expected."

"Why won't you answer me?" Chloe nearly screamed out in frustration at Batman. Stepping further into the light Chloe saw it was no longer Batman, but Bruce Wayne, in his finest formal wear.

"Because you're not asking the right questions." Clark stepped out from the shadows and approached her panicked form from the other side.

"Oh my God Clark, I'm so glad you're here!" Chloe rushed to the safety of his arms only to be stopped by another voice."

"We're not here Chloe, you are the only one here. We are merely aspects of you, aspects that need to get stronger."

"I don't understand." She backed away from Oliver until she realized the three men had her surrounded.

"You will." Clark answered his voice firm but his eyes ever so kind. And then the cold tile floor fell away and she was falling. And the three men watched from above as Chloe hurtled through a sky patched with her memories. She didn't scream, her eyes were locked on Clark's, knowing he was not going to save her this time.

A/N: Sorry so short but I have to develop the next part a little more in my head. Thanks for all the reviews, I really appreciate them and if there is anything I can do to improve please let me know.


	6. Chapter 6

Sirens in the distance wailing dismally faintly registered in her head. It only faintly registered because her mind was more focused on the excruciating pain her body told her she was in. It was kinda like how she imagined someone would feel if they had broken every bone in their body. But it was dissipating slowly.

Gradually it dulled enough to let her feel the cold, rough ground beneath her, the ground pressed into her body, like she'd been there for a long time. She opened her eyes reluctantly and hazy darkness came into focus.

Somehow she managed to wobble herself on her feet. Taking a few steps out of the alley, she found herself in the middle of a bustling outdoor market. Vendors and browsers mingled together, while bikes weaved in and out of the throng of people traffic. She turned to ask the nearest body where she was. He gave her a confused look and responded in something that definitely wasn't English. And then she realized no one was speaking English.

"You're not in Kansas anymore," a faint voice growled in her head.

**Back In Kansas**

She didn't come. This was the third year that she didn't come to him. Oliver told him that she had recovered three years ago. His security camera had shown Chloe get up out the hospital bed and walk out the door. And then, she just disappeared. Like walking out the door of Oliver's lab made her walk off the planet. No one could find any trace of her. And when he said no one, he meant no one. Not Oliver, not Bruce, not Perry, not Lois, not the League and certainly not him.

He sighed gloomily into the night. He needed to stop moping. Superman did not mope. He had taken up the mantle of Superman two years ago for many reasons. One of them being in the vain hope that Chloe would come back to him if he showed her that he was doing what she always said he would do. Become the hero. Isn't that how it's supposed to go? Become the hero, get the girl. But the girl remained stubbornly away from him.

And now he had another girl, the wrong girl, showing interest. Not in him, Clark Kent, but in Superman. And it was weird, all those years of fighting and getting on each others nerves seemed to melt away when he was with her as Superman. It was hard to not see Chloe in her, Lois was gradually picking up more and more of her traits. Like her crazy addiction to coffee, the way she worried her bottom lip with her teeth when she was thinking, the way her desperation for a headline gradually gave way to a more mature and ethical way of writing. And most of all, it was the way she looked at him when he was Superman. It was classic Chloe. Like he alone had the answers to her most secret dreams and desires.

He was falling in love, for all the wrong reasons. To fill a void that he never thought he could live with. But somehow he was. He kept going when his heart screamed at him to give up, to go away, to be done with this cold, alien world that did not seem to contain his one reason to stay. Chloe. It was time to go. He could not hold off looking for remnants of his planet forever. Maybe when he came back, she would magically reappear. And then again, maybe pigs would fly.

**Alaska**

Always the voices whispered to her. They never left her alone. Some times she thought they sounded like people she knew, sometimes Bruce, sometimes Oliver and most of the time Clark. But they'd been with her so long she couldn't tell anymore. They were what they were. Again they whispered to her, driving her onward.

"Alright, I hear you!" She shouted out loud to the voices to get them to quiet. Well it's a good thing no one is around to see you talking to yourself, she thought to herself mockingly. If the voices wanted her to climb a mountain, she would climb a mountain.

The voices had been doing this for the past three years. Telling her a task, and then the next and then the next. They never let her rest, they never let her go home. Anytime she tried they would get louder in her mind, demanding, insisting and giving her one head-splitting pain, promptly followed by a blackout. Suffice it to say she didn't attempt disobeying them too often.

They made her travel, a lot. In three years she'd been to twelve different countries. The first one she had woken up in was China. They made her learn the language, the culture, the business, the politics and most importantly, they harped on her learning the fighting styles in each country. There was no way she should have been able to learn all that in three years. But somehow she was fluent in twelve languages, could find her way anywhere around twelve countries and could kick anyone's ass in all twelve.

One benefit to all this was her healing power had accelerated. Like to the nth power. Like right now if she fell off this mountain she was pretty sure she'd be up and climbing this mountain again in a few minutes. In Tehran, a particularly nasty bad guy had captured her and broken her ribs, her right hand, smashed in her kneecaps and shot her in the head. Imagine his surprise when she was smashing in _his_ kneecaps five minutes later. I mean jeeze, you steal an explosives cache from an insurgent and where does it get you? Well it should have gotten her a one-way ticket to the after-life. But here she was, right as rain, climbing a friggin mountain because her broken brain was telling her to.

She missed Clark. For the dozenth time that day she wished he was here. Telling her everything was going to be okay. Giving her that smile that made her feel tingly all over. But the voices always say it's not time yet. They tell her she can go to him after. After she does this, after she does that.

She gave herself a shake to stop the dwelling, it was never good to start dwelling on Clark, the voices could get a little mean on that subject. And while she would survive if the voices made her black out and she fell off the mountain, she wouldn't be pleased to have to restart this mammoth climb again. Besides she was almost there.

A bonus to this healing thing, temperatures didn't bother her so she could move pretty swiftly since she was unencumbered by things like a bulky jacket and layers of clothing to keep the sub zero temperature from freezing her like a statue. Slamming her pick over the top of the plateau, she pulled herself up and over. Alright crazy voices, what now?

She looked around her and saw nothing but snow, pristine white, undisturbed by a single soul. And then something glimmered in the distance. Wait a minute, I've been here before. She broke out in a dead run towards the shiny object. Thank god for muscles that never get tired. She stopped a few feet away and stared in awe. The voices had brought her to Clark's Fortress.


	7. Chapter 7

She burst into the cavern not even registering the beauty of the Fortress. She was too pissed off.

"Jor-El!" she shouted as she made her way to the command chamber.

"Jor-El you better tell me what's going on before I get Clark involved in this."

"I'm afraid that is impossible Chloe Sullivan." The disembodied voice boomed from the crystals.

"Why, you gonna keep me here forever?" She put as much sass as she could muster into the question, really hoping that wasn't his game plan.

"He has gone in search of our home planet."

"I thought your home planet was destroyed?"

"There is a possibility that remnants of the planet survived."

"Okay, so what am I doing here? You want me on the welcome home committee?"

"My son left a few days ago, he will not return for some years."

"Years!"

"He has a long journey ahead of him."

Chloe tried to wrap her head around not seeing Clark for several more years. She had thought she was close to going home and seeing her loved ones. And now…

"Why didn't you bring me here sooner? So I could see him, say goodbye."

"That was not my purpose for bringing you here."

"It would've been the right thing to do. For Clark and for me."

"Perhaps. But perhaps he would have never embarked on his journey had you been here. This is something he must do. I believe you humans call it 'closure.' He must settle once and for all his hopes of finding other Kryptonians."

"You already know he's not going to find anyone, don't you?" Chloe deduced in astonishment.

"He must take this journey."

She shook her head, knowing she shouldn't be surprised at his callousness. To have him go so far; for nothing.

"So what am I doing here?"

"You know how mankind can be. They will seek to take advantage of his absence."

"Jor-El, your son is not the only hero. There are others that will look out for us."

"And you will join them."

"What! Me? I'm not rich or powerful or influential or have useful abilities. I'm no Clark Kent. What are you going to do, imbue me with his powers so I can be a superhero?"

"Chloe Sullivan, you already are a superhero. I am merely requesting you officially take over for my son."

"I'm no hero Jo-El."

"No? Are you not Chloe Sullivan, best friend and moral compass of Kal-El? The one that always guides others to do what is right? The one that seeks truth and brings to justice the evil and corruption in mankind?"

"There are many who do that. That doesn't make us cut out to be superheroes."

"Chloe Sullivan, I've spent the last three years of your life with you. I have placed you in impossible situations, demanded you to do things that were beyond your skill set. You have gone against every type of evil I could find in your world and you have succeeded. Your powers have grown, you are invulnerable with unlimited endurance and you now have the physical and mental skills to outmaneuver anyone. This is something you were meant to do. Not fated by me or any other power, not part of some grand design or scheme. It is simply who you are. I gave you no powers yet you survived my most rigorous of tests. You are a superhero and it is time the world knew you. You can no longer be the silent shadow in the background. The world must know that even in Kal-El's absence, they are being protected."

A crystal to the right of Chloe glowed brilliant white and then faded. It slid down into the ground of the Fortress to reveal a pool of black material with knee-high boots and a midnight blue belt.

"This has been imbued with your ability. It cannot be destroyed, it will repair itself if damaged and will last for the rest of your life."

Chloe slipped it on, unabashedly discarding her clothes, not like anyone was going to walk in on her. The crystal that had disappeared into the ground rose up and the surface grew milky for a moment and cleared away to reveal the polished shine of a mirror. Stepping closer, she inspected herself.

"You want me to fight crime in this?" She squeaked out.

"Is it not to your liking?"

"Umm…it's…short and uh…slinky. And I think it's clinging to me." Chloe stuttered out, unable to further describe the outrageous way the material clung to her like second skin.

"It was made from you, it molds itself to you. Put up the hood."

Chloe hadn't even noticed the hood that was attached to the dress, she was slightly more concerned with the amount of cleavage on display. It wasn't a skanky amount, but it was more that she was used to. She popped up the hood and took another look.

"What the..."

She snatched the hood off and then slowly put the hood back on.

"Well, that is just…neat!"

When she popped the hood back on, her face turned into a deep black abyss. She was completely faceless. As she looked at herself, she started feeling more comfortable, more confident. No one would ever know that Chloe Sullivan was in this costume, no one would ever know Chloe Sullivan was a crime fighter.

"I have studied human male behavior and found that this outfit will give you an advantage over them. It serves as a distracter."

"And the female baddies will be distracted by…?"

"They will be intimidated by your sexiness."

"Did you just say sexiness?"

"Yes, Chloe Sullivan. That is how you appear in the outfit."

"Please don't ever say that again. That's disturbing on so many levels." She was astonished that Jor-El even knew what sexy meant let alone had programmed his computer brain to be able to differentiate sexiness.

"My apologies. I did not intend to make you uncomfortable."

"I know. Thank you for the outfit."

"As they say in your culture, good luck Chloe Sullivan."

"What if Clark doesn't return?"

"He will. He has strong ties here. Some of them are unbreakable, he will return."

With that Chloe turned and walked away. Glancing down at her feet, she looked at her 4-inch heel boots and then looked at the snow. Sighing at the impracticality she trudged her way onward. Surprisingly the boots stayed dry and despite the height booster heels, they didn't feel awkward or wobbly. Who knew Jor-El could design such stylishly comfortable footwear for women.

She giggled out loud at the thought of Jor-El being a flamboyant women's wear shoe designer. The giggle turned into a full-blown laugh. And then the laughter dissolved into tears. She was alone. Clark was gone. The voices that had been her only companion for three years were gone too. She let herself sob and feel sorry for herself all the while marching on through the snow.

Somewhere in Space

Clark lay curled up on his side; sleeping deeply on his ship. Clutched in his right hand was a picture of a blonde. The setting sun peaked out just a bit behind her head; her hair hung in soft curls and glowed from the sunlight. She had that smile on her face, the smile she bestowed on him and only him. And her eyes sparkled a brilliant green. Clark lips tugged up into a sweet smile as the girl in the picture came to play in his dreams.


	8. Chapter 8

Nothing…the thought, the word, the meaning floated endlessly in his mind. Had he ever fully grasped that concept until now? He barely remembered the journey back to Earth, well home rather. This was his one and only home now. The hope of another was gone. He climbed out of the ship, welcoming the soothing glow of his crystal fortress.

"Jor-El. I have returned. There was nothing to find on Krypton."

"I am sorry my son."

A dawning realization hit him.

"You're not surprised?"

"I knew you would come back with the answer to your question."

"I see." Clark didn't even have it in him to be furious, this was just the way Jor-El was. Without another word, Clark took off. He was ready to go home.

**Metropolis**

Damn, she thought to herself as the alarm went off. People sure were paranoid these days, you go through all the trouble of locating and bypassing the primary and secondary security systems only to be caught in a third back up system. Her fingers flew across the keyboard accessing the files that she needed. Three minutes, that was a new record. She erased her footprints she left in the computer so no one could trace what she was looking for and headed for the open window. Clamping a tension wheel onto the ledge of the window, she grabbed the end of a steel ring and put her boot up onto the sill about to launch herself out the window. It was gonna hurt, but she'd survive, she always did.

"Excuse me ma'am, I don't think that's such a good idea." Superman's disembodied voice came from above her. This was the first time she'd seen him face to face since he returned. Well not exactly face to face, she knew even his super vision couldn't see through the darkness of the hood. She took a moment to rememorize his face, to finally see him again, it eased an ache in her that she didn't even know she had anymore. She pushed up on her foot so that she was now standing on the ledge. The breeze whipped her dress around but her hood magically stayed put, like it always did. She searched his eyes again, unreasonably wanting him to recognize her, wanting him to know her. But that polite, stern expression of a stranger remained on his face. And she jumped.

She sped down at an alarming rate, well would have been alarming had she not done this before. He saw the steel cable she was holding onto but at the rate she was going, there was no way she was going to survive the 52 floor drop. He shot after her and had her safely sailing down in his arms at a reasonable rate before she even made it past the 30th floor. He landed without a whisper onto the deserted concrete sidewalk.

"Thanks for the ride." She said to him as she jumped out of his arms. His arms immediately tightened around her at the sound of her voice. He peered more intently into her hood but the strange darkness remained.

"Hey mister, I said my thanks, doesn't mean you get to be all hands with me." He dropped his hands, being raised with manners had that effect.

"I believe you've taken something that doesn't belong to you miss."

"Oh? And who does it belong to? You?"

"I believe it belongs to the office you were just in."

She let out a peal of laughter that was pure delight to his ears and something tugged at his memory.

"Hardly. You should do better research. Then you'd know better."

"I'm afraid I can't let you take that." He crossed his arms in front of him conveying his stubborn stance on not letting her get away with her prize.

"Not even for an old friend?" She asked playfully as she pulled back her hood. Her golden hair spilled out onto her shoulders as if glad to be finally freed from the depths of the hood. Just as she had been shrouded in darkness before, with the hood off she glowed like a beacon. Radiant skin catching light from the feeble streetlamps and those eyes, he would have recognized those sparkling greens anywhere.

"Chloe." He was staggered, he was drunk, he must be delirious. This was impossible. She couldn't be here, all this time she was here.

"I think we're going to have company soon, maybe you could get us a quick exit out of here?" Chloe asked him referencing the footfalls coming around the corner that Clark hadn't even registered. And in a whirl of wind, he had them speeding elsewhere.

Rooftop of The Daily Planet

It was weird that he brought her here, she often came here to think, to clear her head. She pulled away from him as soon as they landed, his hands falling reluctantly away from her. Neither one of them spoke. Restlessly she moved to the ledge an sat down swinging one leg free and tucking her other leg in front of her to rest her chin on her knee.

"You're gonna give me a heart attack Chlo." Referencing his discomfort to her proximity to the ledge.

"Chlo? No one has called me that in years." She didn't budge from her perch. He cautiously moved over to her and sat down next to her, careful not to startle her. She was staring straight ahead, her eyes half closed as she gazed out over the city.

"How long?" He whispered to her. She was silent for so long he didn't think she was going to answer.

"A while." She whispered back to him, finally turning her head to look at him.

"Why didn't you come to me?" His voice almost cracked asking that, it cost him a lot to ask her that, that question that had burned away at his heart for years.

"Things are different _Superman_." She stated matter of factly, "We are different."

"I missed you. I needed you." He said this hating the pleading note in his voice, the desperation for her to wrap her arms around him and let him really be home.

"I'm familiar with that feeling Clark." She whipped her hood back up, taking comfort in the recess from his searching gaze. She reached a tentative hand out to him and he grasped it like a lifeline. She let him pull her into his warm embrace. His arms just felt so right being around her and she allowed herself to comfort him and to be comforted. It felt like home.


	9. Chapter 9

**Rooftop of The Daily Planet**

She didn't know how long she allowed herself to take comfort in his familiar embrace, but reality kept tugging at the edge of her consciousness and she reluctantly pulled away.

"Why are you hiding Chloe?" He asked her after several minutes passed and he could literally feel her pulling into herself again. She knocked off the hood and brightly asked him if that was better.

"You know that's not what I meant. Though I'm no fan of that hood. I've gone too long without seeing your face." Superman reached his hand out and gently brushed her cheek, like he was afraid a harder touch might make her disappear.

"Well I haven't turned into a common, thieving criminal if that's what you think." She replied with a wink, shaking off his hand.

"Chloe, the minute you revealed yourself I knew you had a good reason for taking what you took. You want to fill me in?"

"Gosh, its always business with you. No hey its good to see you, glad you're alive." She snarked back in response.

"Hey, its fantastic to see you and you don't even know how much it means to me that you are alive and well." He said this solemnly, passionately and with all the meaning that he always meant when he said things like this to her. But she remembered how the things he said would lose their meaning later on, especially when he found a new damsel to rescue.

"So what's with the hood? Magic?" He asked sort of desperately after another long silence.

"I think we should go somewhere. The League will want to know you're back. They need all the help they can get right now."

"Are you planning on answering any of my questions?" He snapped, exasperated that she was holding everything back.

Another pregnant pause.

"I'll tell you where to go, let's fly," she said, losing a bit of the sparkle and gaining a steel in her voice that brooked no argument from him. He sighed out loud, frustrated that things between them were so difficult. But he would be patient. He stood and held out his hand. She grasped it as she sprang up and they shot off into the night sky.

**Justice League Headquarters**

"Hey Oliver, I brought you a present." Chloe beamed at his confusion before pulling Clark into his office for the big reveal.

"Holy Shit!" Oliver just stared dumbfounded.

"Yeah, that was sorta my reaction too." Chloe commiserated with him. Oliver recovered at the sound of Chloe's voice and rushed up to Clark to give him a hug.

"Okay, well I'll leave you to two to do your manly bonding thing."

"Oh, did you manage to get the data?" Oliver asked.

"Of course I did! Who do you think I am?" Chloe demanded, jokingly indignant.

"Did you fill him in?"

"Nope, I figured that was up to you my cap-i-tan." She gave him a mock salute as she headed for the door.

"Where are you going?" Clark asked, bewildered at her desire to leave.

"This info is not going to decrypt itself. Gotta motor." And with that she sailed out the door. Clark took two steps, intent to go after her before Oliver stopped him.

"Let her go, its important." Clark reluctantly turned around to face him.

"There are a million things to catch up on, but I have to finish planning the operation for tomorrow."

"What's going on?"

"Well, it looks like someone is gathering all the materials necessary to build one helleva bomb. Our intel says the intended target is Wayne Enterprises, taking the concept of hostile takeover to the extreme if you ask me. Actually, I'm almost insulted that they are not going after me." He mused in mock hurt.

"Who's they?"

"Well, minions and misguided geniuses naturally. But ultimately, the brilliant plan was concocted by Lex Luthor."

"What! He's alive!?"

"Yeah, there's a lot to catch up on, but time is not with us. We are planning on raiding the warehouse tomorrow night and of course they have an insane amount of security. I'm trying to figure out the best way to penetrate it."

"Well, let me help."

"Thought you'd never ask. But could you go change first? I'm not sure I'm comfortable being in such close proximity to a man covered in spandex." His lips twisted into a smirk as he tossed Clark some clothes that he kept on hand for extended stays at the headquarters. Clark whipped into the clothes taking the ribbing with good humor.

**Several Hours Later…**

"Okay, I think we've got the best we're going to get at this point."

"I can't believe all the ropes we're going to have to go through on this one!"

"That's funny, Chloe is always grumbling about the bad guys getting more and more paranoid with their security." They chuckled together, falling back into their easy friendship of the past. Clark dragged a hand through his hair while Oliver cracked his back.

"So, how is she?" Oliver didn't respond. Damn, no one seems to want to answer any questions around here, Clark thought to himself.

"She's different." He finally responded.

"Well, obviously, I can see that."

"No Clark. I mean _she's_ different. She came back, right around the time you disappeared. She won't talk about where she was or what she did. But whatever it was, man it changed her. She looks like Chloe, she talks like Chloe, she acts like Chloe; but she's different."

"Can you be more specific?" Oliver took a deep breath, thinking of how to put into words to better explain it.

"Chloe of the past wore her heart on her sleeve. She gave her love easily to everyone and allowed people to love her, to have attachments, connections. This Chloe doesn't allow that, this Chloe is funny, smart, glib and kicks a lot of ass. But she keeps to herself, she keeps her heart locked away. None of us have been able to get through to her. To get our relationships with her back the way they used to be. I'm really glad you're back Clark and I'm hoping you can somehow break through her defenses. The League is not what it used to be. We need her back." Clark took this all in, a little relieved that it wasn't just him she was behaving this way with and then immediately felt guilty for being relieved.

"You good here?"

"Yeah, I think I'm going to try to get a few hours of sleep."

"Do you know where she's at?"

"I'm afraid not. She's never told us where she lives; let alone what she does outside of the League. She'll come back here though eventually. Maybe you'll have better luck searching her out. All of us have failed in trying to follow her from Headquarters or trying to track her."

"I'll be back in a few hours."

"Okay Clark, good luck. And…try not to be discouraged…when things don't go back to what they were with her. It took me a really long time to accept it and I didn't accept it very gracefully." He informed him cryptically. Clark nodded not really understanding and left to search out his best friend.


	10. Chapter 10

**Metropolis**

Clark had been searching half the night for her. How could she disappear so quickly, without a trace. How could she allude him, he was super powered for god's sake. Disgruntled and slightly alarmed, he veered without thinking to old diner that Chloe would drag him to when she needed a caffeine fix in the wee hours of the morning. His feet skidded to a halt when he spotted one Chloe Sullivan tucked in a corner booth furiously typing on laptop. He dropped his large frame in the booth with her and waited for her acknowledge him.

"I don't suppose I could get away with the old 'It's a bad time' line, can I?" She asked caustically, piercing him with her eyes as they peered at him over her coffee cup.

"Chlo I haven't seen you in years and not from the lack of trying on my part. This could be the apocalypse and you still would not get away with that line."

"Please Clark, if this were the apocalypse you'd be off saving the world, not having this conversation."

"Hypothetical apocalypses be damned, I'm not leaving until we have this chat."

"Swearing? That's new."

"Just started, stop avoiding."

"Clark, this may come as a shock to you but people change over time. It's called personal growth. And you and I are in different spaces, we can't hold onto this best friend relationship forever. Quite frankly, I don't want to."

"You could change into a rabid werewolf and I would still have this connection with you that keeps me awake at night." That got a slight reaction. Her cheeks blushed ever so slightly and she shifted uncomfortably in her seat. Since when was Clark so convicted in his convictions. She thought this would be an easy sell.

"So you don't want to be friends with me anymore?" He leaned forward as he asked, elbows leaning on the cracked vinyl tabletop.

"No Clark, I'm just saying that we don't have to unload each other's souls on each other. That I don't want to share everything with you. And I don't want to have that conversation at the end where I tell you how much I believe in you and you tell me how much you appreciate me and it's a sappy love fest all-around. I gotta say, I didn't miss that aspect of our relationship."

"You mean you didn't miss the truth."

"Truth is entirely relative, haven't you figured that out yet."

"No. Truth is truth. Truth is you love me. Truth is I love you." There was a long silence as she tried to force herself to argue that point. But she couldn't bring herself to do it. He was right, truth is truth.

"Close your eyes for me." She commanded him softly. He obeyed immediately, without hesitation. He didn't see that sad smile that flashed across her face.

"Now imagine your future. Your ideal future, if everything works out just the way you want from now on, what do you see?" It flashed to him in an instant. Her, with her long blond hair flying in the wind as he gave chase through the field. Her laughter echoing all around, it was his favorite sound. And with her, a little boy and a little girl giggling endlessly. And he new that it was perfect for him, that they were perfect for him.

"I see you and me and two of the cutest kids the world has ever seen living our happily ever after."

"Okay, open your eyes and look at me." He opened them and smiled as he happily complied with her request.

"Take a good look Clark. What you see isn't what it used to be. I can't give you that happily ever after. I don't know that I'm capable of having kids, like physically able let alone being mentally and emotionally able. I'm sure Oliver has told you that I'm me but not me. He is wrong. I'm not me at all and I don't think I'll ever find my way back to being a normal person. You want to know what I do? The League. That is my life. I have no life outside of The League. I live completely off the grid, no one who I am, where I am or what I do. And that is exactly how that's going to stay. " She spoke this calmly, not pausing as his face fell, not responding as he tried to reach across the table to touch her.

"I thought that maybe, I could be done. Since you were back. That the world had its real hero and this stand in could retire. But I'm not done, or so he says. I'm not done and I'll never be done. My hopes, my dreams don't matter at all."

"Who said this to you!" He demanded, outraged and more that a little bit confused.

"Doesn't matter Clark. Truth is truth." She tossed her laptop into a worn leather shoulder bag and stood up.

"Chloe?" She paused from her intention of walking away.

"You know don't you?" She asked him, uncertainty evident in her eyes.

"Know what?"

"You know that Lois's kid…he's your son."

"What?!"

"I thought you would have figured it out by now. Well, there's part of your happily ever after. Don't let it go waiting for someone else to come around. Trust me, it won't work out." She walked away from him, leaving him reeling.

A/N: Sorry for the long period of absence. It always upsets me when stories I like aren't updated regularly. Will try to do better, and reviews are always welcome. Oh and I hated the first episode of the new season. The whole, Sorry Chloe, we've been best friends for most of my life but I have to distance myself from humanity, with the exception of Lois, just does not cut it for me and I'm really mad at the writers. And you know they say that they have to have Lois cause it just wouldn't be Superman if they didn't. Excuse me, but you already killed off Lex Luthor and Jimmy Olsen who were also huge aspects of the Superman verse so I don't think you guys need to stick to script still. And Lois's stupid memory flash. I swear if they kill off the best character on Smalliville…well honestly there's nothing I can really do. Except rant on fanfiction, perhaps send the writers an essay on the error of their ways if I get really ambitious and boycott watching the show. Or just continue to keep the awesomeness of Chloe alive on fanfiction.


	11. Chapter 11

"Chloe, how could you be so reckless!?"

"What were you thinking?"

"You know we are a team and we do things as a team."

Chloe sat with her hands folded in her lap doing her best to look contrite. But honestly, she didn't care. She had passed bored of this little lecture ten minutes ago and was starting to feel more than a little antsy. Oliver was frantically pacing in front of her trying to make heads or tails of her actions.

"Really Ollie, what are you so worked up about? Mission is accomplished, I'd say successfully to boot so what's the problem?"

"The problem is you blew up hazardous, radioactive materials!"

"Okay, but Lex's safeguard prevents any contamination. I'm actually really surprised he thought of that, I mean who knew he cared?"

Oliver rubbed his temple in frustration.

"Which brings me back to the original point. Why in the world did you feel it necessary to be in the building while blowing it up?"

"Well, it was the only way I could think of to do it. The schematics showed it had to be an inside hack. And I didn't want to involve you guys cause it was a one man suicide mission which by the way wasn't suicide for me, since you know, I can't die." She trailed of lamely with a hint of wistfulness. Oliver looked as her sharply.

"Do you want to die Chloe? Is that what you were trying to do?"

"Don't be so melodramatic," she scoffed at him, "why would I want to do a silly thing like that."

"You tell me." He pinned her with his gaze, but she wasn't going to back down, not for him, not for anyone.

"You are dangerously close to crossing the line with me Mr. Queen. I work for you on a volunteer basis, that's it."

"And that's all we are to you? Just a business arrangement?"

"Are you actually going to pretend to be hurt? If I remember correctly, I got into this business out of friendship, out of this naive desire to do good things and keep my friends safe. And then some bad shit goes down, and all these friends that I cared about left me. They couldn't fly fast enough to get away, including you. But did I sit down and have myself a pity party because things didn't go my way like some people? No. I kept going, I kept working and I changed, I'm not anyone's damsel to be rescued, nor am I the obligatory sidekick. So yes Queen, this is a business arrangement, made for convenience and resources and so we don't step on each other's toes."

"If I recall correctly, you yourself disappeared for quite some time."

"I was training."

"With who, where were you, what were doing? Why don't you want to talk about those two years?"

"I think you're right Mr. Queen. It was reckless of me, unprofessional, I don't think I'm a good fit for this team after all."

Oliver sank down in his chair, all the anger and bluster surprised out of him. And he blankly watched her walk away.

Her face was smooth and implacable, her stride long and confident as she left his building. The only tell tale sign that anything was bothering her was her left hand that she had fisted so tightly that only a couple drops of blood managed to escape it.

She went underground to the subway station, taking a few seemingly random rides. After the subway dropped her off at a deserted platform, she unobtrusively touched a part of the wall and a panel popped out. She rotated the panel around and seemed to just brush her hand against the keypad. In reality she had entered in her key code and the panel pressed back into the wall as a larger panel opened up next to it and Chloe walked through. The whole process had taken ten seconds, but it was just enough time for Clark to catch the bottom of the closing panel with his fingertips without Chloe being aware of his presence.

Clark walked cautiously through the dark tunnel and came to another door. There was no doorknob; he scanned for a hidden keypad, which he found after realizing he still didn't know the key code. He scanned past the door to see a short lithe figure talking animatedly to…no one. There was no one else in the room. Concentrating he focused on just her voice.

"I thought you'd be happy about this. This is perfect, I don't have to worry about prying eyes or ears. I can go solo now."

"Chloe Sullivan, I never intended for you to walk this path alone." That voice! That was Jor-El's voice.

"Well, I'm not exactly sure what your plan was. You turned me into a crazy person with voices in her head just so you could train me. You demanded I keep you a secret and keep my life separate from everyone else's so we could remain in contact. What do you want from me?"

"I cannot tell you your future, but for now you must remain incognito. The world is not ready to embrace you. Neither is Kal-El." Clark had to grit his teeth from shouting protests and ripping down the door. Who was he to say when he was ready for Chloe? He was wrong, so very wrong.

"We're not talking about him. I told you he wasn't an issue grandpop." The words were said jokingly enough, but there was a slight edge as he could see her grit her teeth on the word grandpop.

"Just because my son has blessed this world with an offspring, does not mean your destinies are no longer meant to be."

"Yeah I've heard this line before. I'm tired of destiny. I just want to be left alone. I'll do what you want, I'll continue fighting and training to prepare for this big bad calamity you hint about all the time. Just no more hoops, no more Justice League and no more talk of Kal-El." His father gave a deep sigh. His father actually sighed and it sounded like he was sad and somewhat defeated.

"As you wish Chloe Sullivan." Chloe rubbed her hands roughly against her face. Clark was torn between running to her and comforting her or running to his father and demanding explanations. In the end, he didn't get a choice and the door abruptly opened to reveal Chloe standing at the door, hands on her hips and her eyes blazing.

He barely got a glimpse inside of computer equipment and sterile looking walls before Chloe stepped through the doorway and the door slammed shut.

"Clark, I thought I made it pretty clear my privacy was to be respected."

"You've been dodging me Chlo, I had to talk to you."

"What do you want to talk about?" She leaned against the door and crossed her arms in front, the picture of casualness.

"Were you talking to my father?"

"That's not up for discussion." Clark struggled to not push that one, whatever was going on, he'd have to find out through Jor-El.

"I wanted to talk to you about Lois."

"No need Clark, I understand the birds and the bees. If you're having trouble with her, I'm the last person you should go to, we aren't in contact with each other anymore. I don't know her anymore."

"No, I wanted to explain. It was one time, it was a mistake. One that I regretted until now. I didn't even know if I was capable of having a son and to know that I can and I do have one. And he's perfect Chlo, he's more kind and generous hearted than anyone I know." Chloe's severe expression softened a bit.

"Yeah, he's pretty wonderful."

"How do you know if you don't have contact with Lois?"

"I keep tabs on the little runt. You know Lois and her penchant for attracting hot, powerful guys with killer instincts. Didn't want the little guy to be caught in the crosshairs."

"Thank you Chloe." Chloe's face immediately shut down all emotion at his gratitude.

"Listen, I'm happy for you that you learned you can procreate and now you have a mini you running around but I do have things to do."

"Wait Chloe, that wasn't my point!" Clark asked desperately as she brushed past him to go out of the tunnel.

"And Clark, don't ever invade my sanctuary again, or I'll have to think about lining these walls with everyone's favorite green rock." She disappeared into the inky black of the tunnel and Clark was left more confused than ever. Jor-El, he needed to talk to Jor-El. He had to be able to shed some light on why Chloe wasn't Chloe anymore.


	12. Chapter 12

Chloe sighed and rolled her eyes as she watched the giant amble towards her.

"Can't be mad at me Chlo. This is public territory."

She pursed her lips at him and nodded a silent consent for him to join her.

"You know for someone who claims to be done with her friends, you seem to come to our place an awful lot."

"Clark this is not our place, _we_ never had a place. This was and is my place that I showed you back when I didn't know any better." Clark smiled at her, not even the tiniest bit phased at her snarkiness.

"This is our place, no matter what you say." How was she supposed to remain aloof when he said things that made her want to throttle him?

"What can I help you with Clark?"

"I spoke with Jor-El."

"Oh."

"I'm sorry Chloe." Sorrowful eyes gazed at her.

"For what?"

"He showed me, showed me everything he put you through. I'm so sorry."

"Not big Clark, now I know how to take care of myself and other people. It was a good thing."

"Not when it wasn't your choice, not when nothing was explained to you during that time. You were confused and alone and you endured so much pain."

"It was fine Clark, just drop it."

"You were probably freaked out from hearing the voices, thinking maybe you were becoming like your mom. That you were losing your sanity. And all the people that you invested so much love and care for, were nowhere to be found. Didn't even know what you were going through and didn't care enough o find out."

"Just stop it." Chloe felt herself panicking as his words dredged up those years alone and lost in her own head.

"Slowly losing your mind with no one to anchor you to sanity. I know why you keep pushing us away now. I get it that you survived by yourself and you never want to be so weak, so dependent that you go through the lost helplessness again."

Chloe flung herself across the table at him, grabbing his shirt and pulling him an inch away from her face.

"You know nothing about it. You have no business talking about it. Its my business, it was my hell and I don't have to share it with you or Oliver or anyone else." His hardened features softened as he felt her on the brink.

"I know Chlo, I know, you don't have to." Chloe stared at him, unsure of what to do, but she was just so tired. Tired of keeping up the wall, of constantly pushing. And he wasn't demanding as everyone else had been, as Oliver had been. She let herself crumple against him. He stroked her hair; glad to have her in his arms again. He would do anything to erase the time she had spent traveling. Jor-El had shown him everything, how sometimes her missions didn't go as planned, sometimes she was captured, sometimes tortured, sometimes…he couldn't bring himself to think about it. He felt such utter gratefulness when he felt her tears soak through his shirt. She was finally grieving, grieving for herself, for what she'd lost.

"He had no right Chloe, I don't know why he did it."

"He didn't tell you?"

"He gave me some vague prediction of impending calamity, but that doesn't make what he put you through right."

"No Clark, you can't blame Jor-El, it was my own shortcomings that landed me in my messes. I should never have been caught in the first place, he taught me everything I needed to know to best them. I failed."

Clark was horrified to hear her blame herself, but he could already feel her rebuilding her defenses on this one so he backed off and pulled her back against him.

Chloe pulled away again and glanced up sheepishly surprised to find herself sitting in Clark's lap. She flushed slightly and slid over so they were sitting side by side. She ordered coffee and they sat together quietly, her trying to allow herself to relax in the security of his company, him holding on for dear life to their tenuous connection. It was fragile, but it was real, it wasn't the fake brightness she had given him when he had first found her stealing data. He could ask for no more.

**Weeks Later**

There it was again, the flash of brilliance he hadn't seen very often. They were coming more and more often now. He wasn't sure exactly what had happened, Clark got through to her somehow and both were still tightlipped about the whole thing. But he was happy to see her pearly whites as genuine laughter tinkled out of her.

Currently she was bent over her computer with Batman showing him something that had them both full of mirth. She reached out to the dark crusader a week ago and he was still feeling out The League but Oliver felt fairly sure he was going to commit.

Sometimes at the most odd times she would get real quiet, sometimes angrily defensive and Clark would unobtrusively clasp her hand tight or lean slightly against her and she would relax after awhile. He couldn't ever tell what would set her off.

Oliver let himself feel sorry for himself at those times, that she had chosen to confide in Clark and not him. That he could support in a way he never would be able to. But he always shook himself out of such pity parties, she was regaining herself, that was all that mattered.

It was around this time that Oliver noticed that she was really growing into herself. She had always been beautiful, but often more cute than drop dead gorgeous. But now that she stuck around long enough for him to actually look at her, he saw how beautiful she had really become. The lines of her face were a fascinating mix of strong and soft lines, her skin radiant and her body so self possessed and full of grace with long lean lines. He had to admit he was jealous of the boy wonder that held her affections. So much so sometimes it was hard to be around. But no way was he ever going to give up his Watchtower.

"Ollie?" Chloe called, perplexed as she waved her hand in front of him like she'd been calling his name awhile.

"What supermodel are you daydreaming about Mr. Playboy?" She gently admonished him.

"Heidi." He automatically responded back, playing with her.

"Good taste my friend, but I don't think you can compete with Seal."

"Hence the daydream."

"Well we are waiting on you to fill us in."

"Right, saving the world. Would you bring the Red Mercury files to the screen." Chloe tracked the file and opened it on the screen. Oliver clicked the remote to reveal a menacing Arab man. This is Muhammad Kaliq Fudar Al-Mashhadani, currently running a death camp in northern Afghanistan. He's also recruiting people with superpowers, and by recruiting I mean offering them a job or death. We have sanction from the UN unofficially so this has to be a stealth job. Unfortunately, no one knows the exact location of his camp because no one has ever survived it."

Chloe paled as soon as she saw the face, barely hearing the mission brief.

"Suggestions?" Oliver prompted the roundtable of heroes.

"I know. I know where the camp is."

A/N: So this one is going outside of the Smallville verse and more towards establishing The League as a global power. Also, I've been meaning to address people perception that I "hate" Lois Lane. That is the total opposite, I love Lois lane from the comic books and the Superman verse. However, the Smallville version of Lois Lane is not one I can identify with or appreciate. She boozes it up, sleeps around and uses brute force or sex appeal to get anywhere. Lois Lane is supposed to be smart, snarky, classy, witty (not crass) and beautiful. I just don't see these qualities in Smallville's version so that is why my fanfics are very anti Lois. Sorry if that upsets people.


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